Apple Convinces Judge to Stop Samsung Galaxy Tab Sales

But that's not always the case, especially in the highly competitive tech industry where everyone chases the industry leader.

Apple is the unofficial king of tech gadgets. Everyone wants what Apple has to sell. And Apple protects its territory viciously. In a recent court win over rival Samsung, Apple was able to temporarily enjoin the Korean company from selling its Samsung Galaxy tab in the U.S. due to alleged patent infringements.

Apple sought a preliminary injunction against Samsung citing that it would suffer "irreparable harm" if Samsung were allowed to sell its Samsung Galaxy. A preliminary injunction is basically an action the court can order before a final determination is made in a lawsuit. The party seeking an injunction usually has to show significant amounts of evidence that they are likely to win on the merits of the case as well as demonstrating that without the injunction, the party would suffer irreparable harm.

In its lawsuit, Apple accuses Samsung of playing follow the leader and "slavishly" copying its iPad in creating the Samsung Galaxy, reports the San Jose Mercury News. Apple alleges a variety of patent infringements.

Whether Apple wins its lawsuit can take months, if not years, of courtroom battles. As a few months in the tech industry can mean the lifetime of a product, Apple wanted to prevent Samsung from selling its Galaxy even though there has been no finding that Samsung in fact copied Apple's technology.

Apple wipes out one potential iPad rival, the Samsung Galaxy tab. If Apple ultimately loses their patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung, they may be on the hook to Samsung for damages.